Let Go
by MidnightOfTheSoul
Summary: The team searches for a missing man (or is he?) in Jack’s absence.
1. Default Chapter

Let Go  
  
Summary: The team searches for a missing man (or is he?) in Jack's absence.  
  
Spoilers: Always up until the most recent episode.  
  
Rating: PG, may be a little more graphic later.  
  
A/N As always, this goes out to Maple St. Welcome to my crazy, mixed up, messed up, distorted world.  
  
She sat quietly in his office, watching his world walk past. Her organized files lay in front of her as she scanned her notes one more time. Never give them a reason to doubt, never let the fear take hold. Even though she was less than thrilled to be there, she was prepared for a difficult week.  
With a deep breath she exited Agent Malone's office and walked towards the table where his agents were lost in their world, the one where those who were missing were not lost, only waiting to be found.  
Agent Johnson was the first to note her presence and with a look of surprise she exclaimed, "Rebecca? What are you doing here?" she asked as she stood to greet the woman.  
"Nice to see you too, Viv," she smiled back as they hugged.  
"I didn't mean it like that, it's just, wow. It's been a while. You here for a few days? Jack should be in soon if you want to wait around."  
"Actually, he won't," said Rebecca quickly as the smile on the agent's face in front of her turned to a frown.  
"What do you mean?" asked Danny, his curiosity taking over.  
"You would be Agent Danny Taylor," said Rebecca as she pointed at him knowingly. She scanned the rest of the table where the other two agents met her look with doubt and confusion. "And Agent Martin Fitzgerald and Agent Samantha Spade."  
"As you might have guessed, my name is Rebecca, Agent Rebecca Evans. I am going to be taking over for a while as Agent Malone has been placed on temporary probation."  
"Whoa, wait," said Martin as he began to object, but was silenced by Vivian's gesture.  
"Uh, Rebecca, could I speak with you privately please?"  
"Sure, just let me hand out the files; we got hot case guys, just phoned in about an hour ago. Look over the files and we'll be right back." She passed out the manila folders to each agent and turned to follow Vivian.  
"Okay, so what's going on?"  
"You really don't know?" The void of silence pushed her forward.  
"Your unit alone has had four investigations from OPR within the last year. With the latest incident, it was called into question whether or not Agent Malone was the best person to be supervising this unit. As a result of an internal review investigation, he is currently in D.C. undergoing intense questioning and will probably be facing severe reprimands and a few seminars as well. Your team is very near being broken up as more positions have become available for transfer. All I am here for is to substitute while he gets his butt whipped back into shape, that's it."  
"Let me get this straight. Because we have supposedly screwed up so many times, Jack has to clean up our mess and face the consequences?"  
"He is your supervisor, responsible for all that you do. Part of it is his mess too."  
"And why is it that you have to be here?"  
"Vivian, with all due respect, as capable as you are for taking over his position, you are part of the reason he's in Washington. All of you are, actually. I have my own unit in San Diego, one that I enjoy very much. The only reason I why I was called here is that I am the highest ranking agent with the most knowledge of the tri-state area next to Jack."  
Vivian stood quietly, eyeing her former colleague directly. She did not like the looks of this, but right now, office politics would have to take a back seat to the real reason why they were there. She nodded in acquiescence and walked back to the table. She watched Rebecca closely as she presented the watered down version as to why she was there.  
"He will return within a week and the sooner the better, because I want to be here no more than you all want me here. So please, understand that I am not here to spy, or take Jack's job. I am simply a replacement who is here to do my job and that is to find a missing man."  
The agents took in her case and in some way or another, each looked to Vivian, the agent they deemed to be their senior, for confirmation. None of the younger agents dared to betray their leader, nor did they suspend all disbelief and suspicion as they observed the agent before them. She was tall and slender, dark brown hair pulled back half way, and looked to be of Mediterranean descent with an olive complexion. Evidently, she was the same age as Jack, yet she retained an air of youthfulness that he had long since left behind.  
"Jacob Bradley, aged 32, has been missing for anywhere up to 16 hours. He is currently living with his younger sister and her husband. He was noted missing after he didn't come home after work this morning at 6 a.m. The sister's car is missing as well as 400 dollars."  
"With a car and 400 dollars, it sounds like he had a plan though. Why do we need to get involved?" asked Danny, weary of following a dead end.  
"Because, Agent Taylor, blood was found in the parking garage beside the sister's parking spot. The uniforms believe some foul play was afoot. So, Danny, I may call you all by your first names, yes?" each nodded as she began to hand out assignments. "Danny and Samantha, go to the apartment he was sharing with his sister. Viv, check all the hospitals in a 50 mile radius for an injured John Doe, and Martin I need you to track down Jacob's account activities over the last month. If anyone needs me, this is my cell number. I'll be ironing out some problems with the PD. Get to work." She pushed off from the table with a firm smile, and walked back to Jack's office a little shakier than she would have liked.  
The agents remained around the table, confused and suspicious.  
"Does this have to do with all the OPR investigations?" asked Sam as she broke the silence.  
"Yes. Jack is under review right now. He might lose his badge, so all of you, tread lightly, we can't afford any more mistakes," said Vivian as she gathered her files and prepared to begin her phone call marathon.  
"I don't like this at all," said Danny defiantly. "Something's not right about this."  
"Yeah well, she's a good agent, at least as good as Jack. Right now, that's all we need to worry about," said Vivian.  
"Still, what happens to Jack in the end?" asked Martin eagerly, more than willing to fix this problem.  
"Guys, get to work. I don't know what is going to happen, but wasting time isn't going to find Jacob Bradley any faster."  
The agents split up and went their separate ways.  
  
"Jennifer Kidd? I'm Agent Taylor and this is Agent Spade, we're here about Jacob."  
"Yes, please come in," said Jennifer. She was petite, with auburn hair and fair skin and looked to be in her late twenties. Her eyes, however, were those of someone much older.  
"You discovered that Jacob was missing this morning correct?" asked Danny as they took a seat in her small, overcrowded living area.  
"Yes, I normally get up so we can have breakfast together before he goes to bed. He works at the Bank on 3rd and 71st as a nightshift security guard. I called the police after I checked with his supervisor and found out he had not been there for three nights. I was going to call his cell phone, but his number was stored on my cell, which was in the car. I went down to the car park and discovered that he'd taken it along with the money in my cookie jar on the fridge." She smiled sheepishly, "I know it's childish, but it worked for my mom. The money was going toward a vacation when my husband gets back."  
"Back?" asked Sam, puzzled. "Where is he?"  
"Oh, sorry. My husband Thomas is in Iraq. He was with the reserves and they called him up. He's been gone for about seven months. Only five left," she offered a feeble smile that mirrored the blond agent's in front of her. "He's the one that got Jacob the job at the bank actually. Thomas is a loan officer."  
"Not to be rude, but why is your brother living with you?" said Sam, her pen moving furiously in her notepad.  
"My brother got a divorce about nine months ago. He moved in with me when my husband left to keep me company."  
"Do they have any children?"  
"She, or Ashley, has a boy from a previous marriage, but Jacob never adopted him. She's about is five years older than Jacob."  
"Is she still in the city?"  
"Oh no, they both lived in Maine. I doubt she knows where he could be."  
"Was the split amicable?"  
"Yes, from what I know."  
She was cut short by the phone ringing in the kitchen.  
"Excuse me, I'll be right back."  
The agents nodded and continued their notes.  
"What do you think?" asked Danny, giving Samantha a sidelong glance.  
"Beats me. There are too many directions this could go," she said as she looked around the room. "It looks like somebody was an artist."  
"Yeah did you see that room right off the entry? Covered with canvas and paint," said Danny as Sam picked up a dry brush laid carelessly aside on an end table.  
"No, Mr. Sutton I have no idea who took your newspaper. Are you sure it was delivered this morning?" said Jennifer in a frustrated voice. "Alright, you do that."  
"Sorry, my next door neighbor is very protective of his periodicals."  
"That's fine, now can you tell us if Jacob's been acting strange lately, an evidence that might give reason for him to just take off like this?"  
"Uh, no, I mean he hasn't been sleeping much lately but that's all I can think of."  
"Nothing else? No unusual behavior or anything?"  
"No, he's always been pretty calm. Any frustration or anger is acted out through his work."  
"So he's the painter?"  
"Actually, I am, he just dabbles in it a bit. Wait. The other day he did say something strange while he was showing me his most recent experiment the other day."  
"How do you like it?" said Jacob proudly. He stood beside his latest work while he waited for his sister's reaction. Jacob was a tall, broad man, well built and somewhat childish in his features and countenance.  
"Wow. It's a lot different from what you normally do."  
"Yeah, well I think I've finally let go of the beaches in Maine. Time to move on you know? Leave my heart in the sand."  
The painting was in acrylic, showing a solitary figure leaning against a shadowy doorframe, hand clenched to his chest while looking to a bright and sunny outside.  
"It's wonderful. Really, I'm proud of you. But it's not finished yet, you didn't sign it."  
"You're right; an artist always signs his work." Jacob went over to the shelf where he kept a red ink pad. He returned to the easel, pushed his thumb firmly on the inkpad, and placed it in the bottom right hand corner of the canvas.  
"There, finito." He stood back up a returned to the shelf and froze.  
"Hey Jen?" he said holding up a newspaper close to his face.  
"Yeah babe?" she said distractedly, examining the piece a little more closely.  
"How old is this paper?"  
"Which one?"  
"The one on the top of this stack over here."  
"Well, it's at least a few days old, Mr. Sutton brought it over yesterday."  
"That lying bastard."  
"What?" said Jennifer curiously.  
"Oh, sorry. Not Mr. Sutton. I uh, just saw something in the paper. Never mind. I'm going to go fix some dinner before I take off."  
"And, he was fine after that?" asked Sam, as she pulled away from looking at Jacob's piece.  
"Uh, yeah. He didn't mention anything else. He usually doesn't read the paper, so I just let it slip."  
"Do you still have that paper?" asked Danny, gazing around the disheveled mess.  
"I think so, but it may be a little mussed up," said Jennifer as she searched on the floor of the small room.  
"That's fine," said Danny as she handed it to him. "It might help us to figure out where he's gone."  
  
"This guy hasn't gone anywhere for months. No bars, no movies, nothing. He goes to work, comes home and sleeps or does whatever it is that he does. He has one credit card with less than 250 charged on it, all of his bills are paid directly out of his account," said Martin as he leaned against Vivian's desk.  
"Yeah well, there isn't anyone matching his description anywhere. Forensics traced the blood at the scene to him though. I guess whatever it was that happened to him, wasn't bad enough to go to the hospital. Is he doing okay financially?"  
"I didn't see anything unusual. His ex is a lawyer and she definitely makes more than he does, he has no outstanding debts, nothing."  
"He sounds like your average Joe, post-divorce."  
"Yeah no kidding," said Martin as he took a seat in the chair opposite Vivian. "What motivates a man to take off, and with only four hundred? That won't get him very far at all."  
"Well, either way, keep an eye on his accounts. He doesn't have a cell phone?"  
"Yes, but he doesn't use it. It hasn't been in service for about five weeks."  
At that, Vivian's phone rang. She picked it up and began conversing with Samantha on the other line.  
Martin swiveled around in the chair and scanned the files in front of him at the large wooden table. They'd have to wait until Sam and Danny got back to see if any headway had been made.  
"That was Sam. Both she and Danny went to go check out the bank where Jacob worked at, and to pick up some surveillance tapes. She said Danny thought you might have fun looking at those."  
"Ha, ha."  
"What's so funny?" asked Rebecca genuinely as she came to a halt right behind Martin.  
"Nothing," said Martin dismally.  
  
He didn't know what to make of this woman. His own sense of loyalty to Jack told him to stay away from her, yet there was something about her that prevented it. Vivian mentioned that Rebecca was one of the most intelligent agents she'd worked with. She seemed to be very capable, and was a charming woman to be sure. Still, he couldn't quite shrug off the feeling that her presence there wasn't entirely as innocent as she pretended it was.  
  
All he knew is that it couldn't be good for him if Jack was in Washington. Although it sounded selfish on his part, the last thing he wanted was for someone else to be taking the blame for his actions.  
  
"What've you got for us?" asked Martin as he glanced at Rebecca over his files.  
"Well as soon as Danny and Sam get back, we can regroup and figure out where to take this."  
"Oh I just got off the phone with them, they went to go check out the bank. They didn't come up with much at the apartment so they figured they'd try else where," said Vivian quickly.  
"I see," Rebecca said curtly. It was obvious she was a very temperamental woman, and Martin feared that Danny and Sam had already started out on the wrong foot. "I know you all are used to working differently, and maybe in the past you might not have checked in with Jack, but I'd appreciate being filled in before any of you decide to go anywhere. The last thing we need to do is step on toes around here," she said in a stern voice.  
"Rebecca, they didn't mean anything by it, they just figured since they were out there, they might as well make a trip over to the bank. I'll let them know in the future what's going on though," said Vivian as she returned to the table and sat beside Martin.  
"It's fine, really," said Rebecca in a completely different voice. She let out a forced laugh and sat down opposite the two agents.  
"Have you found anything on him?"  
"No, he's a normal guy. He has a flair for painting, from what Sam said, but other than that, nothing too exciting. He got a divorce not too long ago and from what we can tell has not kept in contact with his ex. Sam and Danny are following their lead, so something should turn up."  
"Did he have internet access?"  
"I don't know," Vivian shook her head in doubt.  
"We need to check to see if he has a computer and if so, what his online activities were. Martin, call the sister and find out. If so, go and pick up his computer. Vivian, we need to track down any friends he may have and talk with them. Moreover, if he was planning on leaving, we need to know what he's been doing for the past month, down to what he ate for breakfast eight days ago. Keep it up guys," she said kindly then walked back towards Jack's office, pulling out her cell phone.  
"I'm on it," Vivian said under her breath as Martin went back to his desk.  
Just then, her phone rang again. She picked it up and answered. Martin's ears perked up as Vivian's voice portrayed a sense of shock.  
"You're kidding!" said Vivian in disbelief.  
  
A/N I love pulling that whole suspense ploy. It always worked with alias. Anyway, I've been concocting parts of this for weeks now, I figured now was better than never to get it all out. Hope it's interesting enough. If not, well it should get better. 


	2. All work and no play

Forgot my disclaimer in my previous entry. Whoops! I own nothing, not even a degree in Psychology. (HaH anyone?) Spoilers: Still doing whatever is current.  
  
A/N: I am desperately sorry it took so long to update, but the whole traveling and visiting the States kind of got in the way. So this story will be a little crazy for a bit, please bear with me. Enjoy!  
  
25 hours missing  
  
"Okay, so let's lay this out. We have Jacob who works at Mason Bank as a security guard, a job his brother-in-law got for him. Eric Kingston, a lawyer for the bank, also went missing yesterday, sometime after he got off work. Kingston is unmarried and a reported work-a-holic. They don't have any apparent connections, nor do they even come across each other," said Rebecca as she sat at the conference table with the four agents.  
  
"Not that we know of. I am still checking out the surveillance tapes," said Martin cautiously.  
  
"Somehow, these two men have to be linked. I don't care where you live; two men who work at the same company don't mysteriously disappear on the same day," said Rebecca.  
  
"I just picked up a copy of the newspaper that was in the sister's apartment, but I haven't found anything yet that could have spurned him on," said Samantha as she glanced from Rebecca to the board.  
  
"That's great but do we really know if that had anything to do with it?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"The sister said his response to the paper was unusual. He is normally a pretty laid back guy," said Sam, almost anticipating Rebecca's question.  
  
"Yeah, well stranger things have happened. Right now, we have to run this with NYPD, because Kingston is under their jurisdiction. Vivian, seeing as you are familiar with the unit we'll be working with, I'd love if you'd speak with them and get us more information on Kingston."  
  
"Got it. I'll drop by as soon as I'm finished. You want the basic history and any other material that could link them right?"  
  
"Read my mind anytime you like, Viv. Just make sure he isn't a dirty banker and that his clients are happy. "  
  
"Of course," Vivian returned with a knowing smile.  
  
"Martin, I understand that Jacob's computer had nothing for us to go on?"  
  
"Not that we've found. He has a couple of emails with the boy from his marriage. Apparently, they were very close."  
  
"Jacob's sister said that he'd been married for eight years, I'd say that was long enough to form a bond," said Danny.  
  
"Was there anything unusual about the emails or were they pretty typical?" asked Vivian.  
  
"Kid was having problems in school, and he didn't like his mom's new boyfriend, nothing unusual for a kid his age," said Martin.  
  
"Anything else on his hard drive?"  
  
"Nope, we checked the hard drive and back ups, nothing. He doesn't even download music. The guy is squeaky clean."  
  
"He sure is. He's almost too good. There has to be something that set this guy off," said Sam as she tapped her pen on the table. "All I can think of is the newspaper, but I haven't found anything that could do that."  
  
"The original was too hard to make out?"  
  
"I think his sister had a little run in with some finger paints or something," said Danny mockingly.  
  
"He has no hobbies?" asked Rebecca.  
  
"Nope, not except for painting," said Danny. Simultaneously both he and Samantha looked up. "Maybe something," he stated.  
  
"was in the painting," Sam finished. "Did she say if he'd started another piece or not?"  
  
"I don't believe so, but it couldn't hurt to check."  
  
"Great, I want you to follow through with the paintings and see what else you can dig up," said Rebecca as she surveyed the table. "Okay here's the deal. Martin, finish up with the surveillance tapes; Vivian, if anything, you will be our P.D. liaison; Sa-"  
  
"Are you sure you don't want Sam to work with the P.D.? She's done it so well in the pas-" choked out Danny as Samantha elbowed him hard in the ribs.  
  
"He's just kidding, I think Vivian would be perfect, what with her brother in the department and all," said Samantha quickly as she eyed Danny dangerously.  
  
"Right," said Rebecca, trying to ignore their foolish behavior. "Anyway, Sam and Danny follow up on the paintings, and see what else you can get from the newspaper."  
  
"Sure," said Samantha as she gathered her files and followed Danny over to his desk.  
  
Martin blinked rapidly. His eyes were going blurry from viewing the tapes and his butt was suffering from the lack of blood flow to that region. He had tapes from the past two weeks, and during that time, he'd seen nothing that was unusual. During Jacob Bradley's shifts, he and the other guard operated the front desk while another guard did rounds. Every thirty minutes they would switch and give the other guy a break. Normally the last person left the bank around 21:30 to 22:00, but it was never Eric Kingston. He was steadily growing tired of this monotonous work. Only two tapes left and he'd be free to fill his empty, grumbling stomach.  
  
Just then, Danny walked by devouring a fully loaded hot dog. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized who was in the room. He turned around, and walked in with an air of nonchalance and took a seat next to Martin, whose eyes were fixated on the hot dog before him.  
  
"How's it coming A/V boy?"  
  
"Ha ha. I have two tapes left and then I can move on to something useful."  
  
"You don't really think she's going to let you out, do you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" said Martin, feigning ignorance.  
  
"C'mon. After everything that's been going on, it's not like she's going to trust you out in the field," said Danny through a mouthful of relish and hot dog. "Maybe Jack, but Rebecca? No, she's too straight-laced for that."  
  
"First, I don't know what you're talking about and second, could you get out of here with that? You're smelling up the room and I don't want you to get anything on my notes," he said as he tried to push aside his blank clip board.  
  
"Sure, I have to run with Sam over to the apartment again anyway. Don't be bitter because you weren't allowed on a lunch break," said Danny as he shoved the last of the hotdog in his mouth and headed out the door.  
  
"I'm not bitter," Martin called after him. Lunch break? That was hours ago. No wonder he was hungry.  
  
"Hey, why haven't you two left yet?" asked Vivian as she walked to her desk.  
  
"We haven't been able to get in touch with the sister and we don't want to make a trip all the way over there just to wait until she gets back," said Samantha as she stood leaning over the table, perusing the paper for some shred of a lead.  
  
"Still, couldn't Danny be doing something useful?" said Vivian as she glanced over to Danny who was leaning back into his chair, throwing a small football towards the ceiling.  
  
"Hey, I am waiting for one of the guards to call me back. He worked both days and nights, so I figured someone who'd seen both Kingston and Bradley could be of some use to us.  
  
"How about you, what happened with P.D.?" asked Sam as she glanced up at the agent before her.  
  
"Just as lovely as ever," said Vivian with a trace of sarcasm. "Kingston is an executive at the bank, earning well over six figures a year. He lives on Park Avenue, and from what I saw in his apartment, he is barely there. He walks some twenty odd blocks to work at 5:45 in the morning, and leaves on average around 8:00 at night. Somehow, he manages to fit running into his schedule, because apparently he is a marathon runner."  
  
"Wow, his life is just as exciting as Bradley's," said Danny. "I still don't see a connection."  
  
"Wait, it gets better," said Vivian. "You know how we thought Bradley worked six nights a week? He only works five. While I was checking out Kingston's office, I went downstairs and spoke with the security manager and he showed me the monthly schedule and surprise, our boy only pulls in 40 hours."  
  
"But his sister said that he worked six nights a week," said Sam.  
  
"So maybe our model citizen isn't so perfect," said Danny. He almost fell out of his chair in surprise when his phone rang.  
  
"Either she has no idea or she wasn't being completely up front with us. I think I am going to go get a warrant to search their apartment."  
  
"Why?" asked Rebecca as she walked up to the table.  
  
Samantha flinched slightly. For Jack's sake, they were all trying to follow protocol, and to be honest, she didn't find Rebecca all that disagreeable, but it was difficult trying to get work done while keeping Rebecca up to date on everything.  
  
"Well, uh, Viv, just got back," she motioned with her hands, "and she learned that Bradley has only been working five nights a week for the past," she paused, waiting for Vivian to take over.  
  
"For the entire time he's had his job. If at any time, Kingston would see Bradley as he was coming in for work, but from what Martin has noted, no interaction was shown."  
  
"Excellent. What's Danny up to?" Rebecca motioned towards Danny who was wrapping up his phone call.  
  
"He is speaking with one of the guards who worked nights with Bradley," said Sam quickly.  
  
"And you haven't been to the apartment yet?"  
  
"As soon as he's finished and I have secured a warrant we'll take off," said Sam.  
  
"Okay, great. Vivian, you and I are going to take a trip."  
  
"What? Where?"  
  
"To see his ex wife."  
  
"But she lives in Maine."  
  
"On the contrary, she lives in Connecticut as of three months ago; all that's left in Maine is a dilapidated beach house."  
  
"Okay, let me call my husband to make sure he picks Reggie up from basketball practice tonight."  
  
"So, we'll call you once we find out anything on Bradley," said Samantha as she stood next to the agent. She frowned because she found she was looking up to the woman. Rebecca's heels were and inch shorter than hers were. Before her mind wondered off on some odd inferiority issue, she brought herself back to reality. She didn't know why, but as much as she wanted to dislike the agent before her, there was something in her eyes that made Sam feel comfortable around her.  
  
"Or Kingston," said Rebecca. "The P.D. should be faxing his record over to us within the hour."  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Oh and when Martin comes back, get him to go over Kingston's accounts and find out what Bradley has been doing on Saturdays. We still need to find that final connection between our two guys," she said as she looked the blonde agent directly in the eyes. She always found that it helped to be very precise and direct with her agents, it helped to secure their trust.  
  
"Where'd they go?" asked Danny as soon as he'd hung up his phone.  
  
"Well, while you were chatting up some guy from the Bronx, they decided to take a road trip to Connecticut."  
  
"Are you serious? It's almost quitting time and Viv is off with her long lost partner? Interesting."  
  
"Yeah, well, 'Damn the man, save the empire.' What'd you dig up," said Samantha as she leaned against the table, her arms crossed.  
  
"Well, Bradley was very quiet, but he'd sometimes meet the 'guys' before work at a local bar and watch a basketball game or two. He always showed up early to work, and was normally the last to leave during shift change. What's interesting is that when they did their rounds, some floors they just scanned, others they were assigned to keep closer watch on. The floor that Kingston worked on came under Bradley's watch."  
  
"Fascinating. So what."  
  
"It just so happens, that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Bradley's last round coincided with the same time Kingston arrived at work and marched dutifully to his office."  
  
"Ooo, great work. Listen, I've gotten a warrant for the entire apartment now, so we need to head on over."  
  
"Okay," he said as he swung his jacket on. "Where's Martin?"  
  
"He's still in the A/V room."  
  
"I'm gonna go see if he's gotten anything before we take off."  
  
"Fine," she said as she tried to get her files in order.  
  
As she was putting her jacket on Vivian's phone rang. She figured it was the P.D. with news on Kingston so she walked over and picked up the receiver.  
  
"Agent Johnson's phone, Agent Spade speaking," she said professionally.  
  
"Hey where's Viv? Her phone's not on," said a gruff voice on the other line.  
  
"Excuse me?" Sam asked with her brows furrowed in confusion.  
  
"Sam, it's me Jack. I need to speak with Viv, is she nearby?"  
  
"No, she's going to Connecticut, but where are you? Are you really in D.C.?"  
  
"Yeah. Just tell Viv to call me when she gets in, tell her it doesn't matter the time."  
  
Samantha's voice grew hushed, "Jack are you okay?"  
  
"Oh, I'm fine. Listen I've got to go, give her the message for me?"  
  
"You got it."  
  
"Thanks. Be good."  
  
She looked at the receiver after he hung up, wondering if she'd really just had that conversation.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Danny as he glanced at Samantha quickly.  
  
She thought quickly as to whether or not she should share that she'd been in contact with their boss. Deciding against it, she looked up at Danny and shrugged.  
  
"No idea, I think he dialed the wrong extension."  
  
"Why are we going to visit the ex?" asked Vivian as she glanced in the side mirror.  
  
"Well, their split was amicable, but he gave up the house, all accounts, their boat and his BMW to her."  
  
"Wait, he had all that and now he is a security guard? Something isn't working here."  
  
"Yeah, no kidding. They never had a prenuptial agreement, but somehow, she got everything out of him. His records show that he went to community college, and finished up at a barely accredited school. He majored in business. When they met, she already had her own practice in Maine. Yet when they split, a lot of the stuff was his, or at least purchased by him."  
  
"She moved to Connecticut after the divorce?" asked Vivian.  
  
"No, actually, she's had this house for two years. What's odd is that the house is under the name Mark O'Connor. We need to know who he is."  
  
"Well, does she have anything to do with Kingston then?"  
  
"That's what were about to find out. Her secretary said that Mrs. Bradley, now going by her former name of Carver, will not accept phone calls. Hence the reason for our fun road trip," she quickly sped past a sedan chugging along at a mere 65 mph.  
  
"I see the west didn't make you a soft driver."  
  
"Are you kidding? All that sunscreen and wheat grass can make a person go insane. Anyway, there's traffic no matter where you go these days. Especially in San Diego. It's become so overbuilt, what with all the new subdivisions and suburbs and what not."  
  
"Sounds like you love it there."  
  
"Of course I do. I wouldn't trade my hard-earned, hard-to-get beach front property for the convenience of living in the city."  
  
"Good," said Vivian, hoping her tone didn't betray the subtle suspicion creeping into the back of her mind.  
  
"What did Martin say?" said Sam as steered the car into the continuous traffic that kept the city at a standstill.  
  
"He kind of mumbled something about blindness and stabbing me in my sleep. I just told him to man the phones and to be ready for the fax."  
  
"Did he say anything about Kingston's accounts?"  
  
"No. He did say that Kingston was in charge of a bank expansion,"  
  
"Wait, woah, wait. I think I know what it was that set Bradley off. Go to the business section. I think the fourth or fifth page should have something about that circled."  
  
"What the 'Mason Bank Set to Open Fifth Branch' article?" asked Danny.  
  
"Yeah, wasn't it moving to Maine?" asked Sam as she turned a corner and waited for a street cleaner to move a little farther to the right.  
  
"You know what's odd, is that all the other branches are in New York. Even the staff writer made a comment about it. You'd think that the bank would spread to neighboring states then move out further."  
  
"So, if Kingston was behind all of this, then why was Bradley upset?" asked Sam.  
  
"I guess we're going to have to figure that out," said Sam as she parked the car and they approached Jennifer Kidd's apartment.  
  
"Long time, no see," said Jennifer dourly as she opened the door. She wore overalls that appeared to have suffered the length of her career as an artist.  
  
"I already gave that other agent Jacob's computer. There isn't much else in his room."  
  
"Actually, we have a warrant for anything in this apartment," said Sam as she held up the piece of paper in her hand.  
  
Samantha registered a look of surprise on the woman's face.  
  
"Whatever, just don't touch that one," she motioned to the painting leaning against the far wall of her foyer. "It's drying."  
  
"Before we begin our search, I was wondering if you were aware that Jacob only worked five nights a week," said Sam as Danny stood at her side.  
  
"What do you mean? Jacob's been working six nights a week since he got the job."  
  
"Does he always come home right after work?"  
  
"No, on Saturday mornings, after he gets off work, he heads to the Boys and Girls Club two blocks away. He is a basketball coach for the U-12 boys team and they normally have games on Saturdays. He stays away all day and just goes to work after the last game."  
  
"Did they ever have practice?" asked Danny.  
  
"Not that I know of, but I've never asked. Yes, my brother and I are close, be we are close on a different level than other people. We don't really talk about what's going on in our lives. We just are what we are."  
  
Sam looked at Danny out of the corner of her eye. Unlike this morning, Jennifer seemed much more unstable, and noticeably different. She strongly doubted if the woman was telling the truth.  
  
"Okay, so you have no idea what your brother does in his free time, he has no friends, and he stays at home all day."  
  
"No, he's back up at one and out of here by two. He's never brought anyone by my house, and the only other friend I know he has is a mutual friend."  
  
"Does this friend have a name?" asked Danny as he leaned over a barely begun watercolor.  
  
"Yeah, Hector Torres."  
  
"Hector?" asked Samantha. "He has a thing for hands and he's about this tall," she motioned to slightly above her height.  
  
"Talks fast and moves even faster," said Jennifer.  
  
"He lives two doors down from me," said Samantha. "I went to get my mail one day and he latched on to my wrist begging to sketch my hand."  
  
"Yeah he's a great guy. Very sweet."  
  
"No kidding," said Samantha genuinely. She glanced over at Danny who was examining a piece closely.  
  
"So the ones with the red thumbprint are all your brother's." stated Danny.  
  
"Yes. Most of his are the watercolors though. He likes the softer effect."  
  
"Are all of them of the beach?" asked Samantha.  
  
"Why don't you tell me? The majority of his collection is right there," she pointed to a clump of canvas stacked eight deep against the wall. Like I told you, I'm the one that paints."  
  
"I was just wondering if there were anymore that we didn't know about."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Does your brother have anything to do with Eric Kingston?"  
  
Danny turned to see what Jennifer's response was. He was hoping she'd know more than what she was giving them.  
  
"Not that I know of, but like I said, we don't really get into each other's lives. I've never even met his ex-wife. My brother left when he was sixteen, and kept in contact with me, but I didn't meet up with him again until about two years ago."  
  
"Any reason for his sudden departure?"  
  
"He hated New York."  
  
"Then why is he back?"  
  
"He had no where else to go. Look my brother showed up on my doorstep right after his divorce papers went through. He said that he had nowhere else to go. He was broke, what was I supposed to do? Turn him away? My husband got him a job, and now he stays with me. Or he did stay with me."  
  
"You have no idea what he's done for the past decade and you just let him waltz back into your life?" asked Samantha.  
  
"He supported me financially when I had nothing. I had a debt to repay."  
  
The tension between the two women brought Danny from his analysis of Jacob's work and he looked at Jennifer.  
  
"He must have had some good memories here," he pointed at the painting. "He really loved her didn't he?"  
  
"So he says," said Jennifer, not missing a beat. She threw her rag against the wall and walked out of the room.  
  
Samantha looked at Danny and sighed.  
  
"We keep walking around in circles."  
  
"I think he's in Maine, at the beach house," said Danny assuredly.  
  
"Why, because he paints it all the time?"  
  
Danny's finger traced along a small window with a dark, solitary figure looking out. "No," he said as he glanced back at her. "Because that's where he left his heart."  
  
"Yeah, it's Martin." Martin sat back against his chair warily as he spoke into his cell phone.  
  
"Kingston has no suspicious deposits into his account. If he has any others, we can't trace it," he responded. "His credit cards are dormant as is his savings account."  
  
"I've already gotten the fax from the P.D. I can't do much with it, because they are still withholding much of their information," he paused waiting for a response. "Yes I understand with him missing this case became more important, it's just that we all have our priorities and I think the police department is being a bit selfish. They won't even hand over Kingston's phone records. I guess if they didn't find anything on them we'd have the records already."  
  
"Fine. Uh, he has a few big name clients. He handled many of the large transactions for the bank. Yeah, he was hired right out of college. He's been there for almost ten years."  
  
"No I haven't gotten anything more on Bradley either. I need to run with the security tapes again? Why?" His voice betrayed his frustration. He could not stare at that screen any longer.  
  
"Okay, I got it. Only the week of November 2-8. Is there anything I should be looking for here?"  
  
"Is there a reason why Kingston wouldn't be at work?" he scanned his pile of tapes as he listened.  
  
"He's out of town for a week. So what, he earned it, right?"  
  
"Oh, well that is a little strange. Okay, wait. If he went there, he drove because there are no charges on his credit card for a flight. And he must have a car because there isn't anything as far as rentals go either."  
  
"So he does have a car. But why was it still in his apartment's garage?"  
  
"That just adds more to the fact that Bradley and Kingston's disappearances are related."  
  
"Yeah I pulled it up," he said as he looked over Bradley's work schedule. "Jacob Bradley only took that Friday off work, and it was a scheduled off day for him."  
  
"Did you get what you needed from the ex-wife?"  
  
"She got everything because he's a nice guy? Well, she is a divorce lawyer. Yeah I'm not buying it either. Did she tell you where the beach house is?"  
  
"Good, yeah that's where Danny and Samantha think Bradley headed."  
  
"No, they just called; they are headed back here with everything they confiscated from the apartment. Oh, and Sam found that Kingston was in charge of an expansion in Maine, she figures that's what made Bradley act out of the ordinary. All we need to know is what Kingston's expansion had to do with Bradley flipping out."  
  
"Yeah, I'll verify if the tapes are accurate or not. Okay Viv, see you in the morning."  
  
Martin closed his phone and looked at the tapes before him. He pushed away from the table, and walked to the dry erase board and grabbed the black marker. On opposite ends of the board were Bradley and Kingston. In the middle of the board, he carefully printed 'Maine???' and finished making any additions he'd learned from his previous conversations to both victims.  
  
"Okay," he said aloud to himself. "Two men, linked in some way, disappear on the same day, and apparently head to the same place, in the same vehicle."  
  
Several theories ran through his head. Maybe it was over Bradley's ex- wife. Nevertheless, how would Kingston and his ex ever have come across each other? It could be about money, admittedly, they both worked at a bank where several affluent clients employed its services. What on earth did Maine have to do with anything? Escaping to the beach house would be an obvious move  
  
He figured the beach house was a dead end as he headed into the A/V lab to watch the tapes again. Watching two separate tapes on different monitors should get the process done a little quicker.  
  
Twenty minutes into his surveillance marathon, he got another phone call.  
  
"Fitzgerald. Yes, Agent Johnson told me you'd call if you found anything," he paused as the officer on the other line cut him off.  
  
"Really? And you are sure about this? Thank you very much." He smiled to himself as he ended the call. Dead-end no more! He pushed speed dial and received Vivian's voice on the other line.  
  
"Yeah Viv, you might want to take a U-turn and ask the ex-wife why her husband was also Mark O'Connor. Yes, I just got the call. Jacob Bradley isn't as boring as we thought. Apparently, the police want him in two counties on one count of murder in one, drug trafficking and involuntary manslaughter in the other. No, not as Jacob Bradley, but as Mark O'Connor. Yeah, I'm already on it."  
  
He loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves before he got back on the phone. It was going to be a long night.  
  
A/N Okay, that was a whole lot of confusion for very little excitement. I must say, this chapter was very difficult to write, but hopefully it didn't show. This story does have an actual purpose, I promise. It is just that it may take a while to get there. 


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